WTA Finals - Tearful Ons Jabeur pledges prize money to Palestinians after Marketa Vondrousova win
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Published 02/11/2023 at 08:11 GMT
Ons Jabeur got a measure of revenge against Marketa Vondrousova by beating the Czech at the WTA Finals in their first meeting since the Wimbledon final. But after the match, the Tunisian said she has struggled recently seeing images from the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and pledged to give part of her prize money to "help Palestinians". The world No. 7 faces Iga Swiatek on Friday.
'Wimbledon still hurts' - Jabeur admits she needed time to process All England Club final defeat
Ons Jabeur pledged to donate part of her WTA Finals prize money to “help Palestinians” as she called for “peace in this world” after beating Marketa Vondrousova in Mexico.
Jabeur’s 6-4 6-3 victory kept her in the hunt for the semi-finals in Cancun and saw her take revenge against the player who beat her in the Wimbledon final earlier this year.
But after the match, the Tunisian spoke about how the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has impacted her recently.
"I am very happy with the win, but I haven't been happy lately, to be honest with you. The situation in the world doesn't make me happy," Jabeur said, before choking up with tears.
She continued: "It's very tough seeing children, babies dying every day. It's heartbreaking. I've decided to donate part of my prize money to help the Palestinians.
“I cannot be happy with just this win, with what is happening. I'm sorry guys, [I know] it's supposed to be about tennis, but it's very frustrating looking at videos every day.
"I'm sorry, it's not a political message. It's just humanity. I want peace in this world and that's it."
The world No. 7 went on to say that following news from the Middle East has affected her performance on the court recently.
"I try to stay off social media as much as I can, but it's very tough," Jabeur said.
"You go through videos, photos, they're horrible, horrible photos every day. It doesn't help me sleep or recover very well and the worst thing is I feel hopeless.
“I feel like I cannot do anything. I wish I can have a magic hand and just end all this and just peace for everybody. But it is frustrating, and maybe donating some money would help a little bit with what they have been going through.
“But I know money doesn't mean anything right now to them. So I wish freedom for everybody and really peace for everyone."
On the court, Jabeur put in a strong display to beat world No. 6 Vondrousova in straight sets in the second match of round-robin play.
Jabeur saved six of seven break points to take a tight first set before showing good aggression in set two, breaking to go 4-3 up and kick-start a run of three straight games that saw her seal an 89-minute victory.
It ended the Czech’s three-match winning run against Jabeur and saw her slump to 0-2 ahead of her final match against Coco Gauff.
All four players in the Chetumal Group still have a chance of reaching the semi-finals going into the final round of round-robin matches.
Iga Swiatek boasts a 2-0 record ahead of her meeting with Jabeur, with Gauff and Jabeur on 1-1 and Vondrousova on 0-2.
Jabeur will face Swiatek on Friday in their first meeting since the 2022 US Open final, which the Pole won in straight sets.
"Iga is a very smart person and she knows how to adapt to these conditions," Jabeur said.
"I'm going to try to enjoy this game. Try to play freely. Try to let go some of the anger that I have and hope for the best. It's definitely not going to be an easy match, but I will try my best."
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